"They... Speak Better English than the English Do": Colonialism and the Origins of National Linguistic Standardization in America

Recent scholarship has traced efforts to fashion an American national language through standardization of forms and usage. In fact, attempts to shape written and spoken American English according to ideas of correctness, propriety, and, most important, a national standard began before American Independence. Longmore traces colonialism and the origins of National Linguistic Standardization in America.